SETI Researchers Propose Eavesdropping on Alien Civilizations
The only way an alien civilization can be found, is if it is already sending us a beacon, hailing us across the great emptiness. A civilization that chooses to stay quiet, as we ourselves do, would never be found by current SETI projects. This, however, is about to change.
In a presentation today at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Seattle, Washington, Avi Loeb of the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) proposed a radically new type search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Instead of looking for a beacon, he suggested, we should rather look for normal (?!?!) electromagnetic signals that are produced by a civilization such as our own.
In our case these would include radio and television broadcasts, as well as military radar signals that are the strongest of all.
According to Loeb it is reasonable to expect that alien civilizations also produce these types of electromagnetic signals, that spill out naturally into space. Most importantly, he argued, we will soon be in a position where we can eavesdrop on them. (more)
...as if "Over 250 Channels and Counting!" on Directv isn't enough.
Should IT Departments Oversee Spying Operations?
Wal-Mart recently fired two employees for illegally recording conversations with a news reporter, after notifying authorities about the incident. One of the fired employees claims the company maintains an internal surveillance organization, which keeps tabs on company critics, employees and who knows what else. What really caught my attention, was an AP story I read that said the surveillance unit, called the Threat Research and Analysis Group, was a unit of Wal-Mart's Information Systems Division. Other stories from other sources say the group worked on the third floor of Wal-Mart's Bentonville, Ark., technology offices.The issue of corporate spying aside, I found it interesting that this group is supposedly attached to the IT department. On the one hand, given the role technology can play in monitoring employee computer activity and network access attempts, all fairly normal corporate activities - it's not surprising IT would be involved in corporate surveillance. On the other hand, keeping tabs on critics and competitors, regardless of the technology deployed, would seem to be an activity better suited for the oversight of the legal or corporate security department. (more)
AR - A Mountain Home police detective says a Baxter County sheriff's deputy (David Paul) who was arrested for allegedly planting a listening device in his neighbor's apartment gave investigators a "wishy washy" explanation for why he bugged the residence. ...The 35-year-old Paul was fired after the neighbor discovered the microphone and police investigated Sunday. ...
Police say Paul allegedly accessed his neighbor's upstairs apartment by going through his own ceiling. Authorities noted four holes in the ceiling of Paul's apartment, and authorities say Paul admitted to cutting the holes and trying to eavesdrop. The neighbor said he noticed the microphone when he walked across the carpet and felt something underneath. He made a small cut in the carpet and found a computer type microphone. (more)
Sophia had known that Simon was going to be there on that night last September because she had been using the latest gadgets to spy on the love rat. (more)
Q. How should I handle a colleague who constantly eavesdrops on my conversations?N.S., Eugene, Ore. A. You have three choices: do nothing, confront the eavesdropper immediately, or talk to the eavesdropper at a time other than when the eavesdropping is taking place.
If the eavesdropping is just a minor annoyance, you'll need to decide whether it's really an issue you want to confront the eavesdropper about or whether you can deal with it some other way -- such as suggesting to the person you're talking with, "Jane, let's move to a conference room to continue our conversation."
If you decide the situation warrants action, you could try saying something at the moment the eavesdropping occurs: "Tom, I couldn't help noticing that you're listening to our conversation. Would you mind giving us a little privacy? We'd really appreciate it."
The problem with this approach is that Tom may react badly, in which case your conversation could deteriorate.
The preferred solution is to speak to the eavesdropper later, in private: "Tom, I asked to talk with you because something's happening that's making me uncomfortable. I've noticed that sometimes you seem to be hanging around listening in on my private conversations. Could I ask you to give me some space in these situations, so I can talk without being overheard? Other times, when it's not a private conversation, I'll make every effort to include you. Is that OK with you?" (source)
Wales - The wife of ex-Wales international and Fulham manager Chris Coleman was front-page news this week when she was accused of bugging his Range Rover, suspicious of the time he was spending away from home.
But more shocking is the number of suspicious spouses out there who are keeping tabs on their other halves.
Cigarette-packet cameras, pens that double as microphones, plug-socket bugs and mobiles that receive texts bound for another phone are just some of the hi-tech gizmos snoopers can buy off the internet to spy on their loved ones. Bargain basement bugs can be bought for as little as... (more)
Malaysia has banned mobile phones and installed electronic jamming devices in key parts of its administrative capital to block spying on official discussions, a newspaper said on Monday.
"The widespread use of these devices, especially handphones with camera facilities, has serious implications on security," the Star newspaper quoted Malaysia's top bureaucrat, Mohamed Sidek Hassan, as saying in a recent message to officials.
Mohamed Sidek also asked department heads to designate areas where official matters are discussed as "information security zones," the paper added.
Paranoia strikes deep.
Into your life it will creep.
It starts when you're always afraid.
-- Stephen Stills(from The New York Times) "First we learned that a Wal-Mart employee taped phone calls between Michael Barbaro, a New York Times reporter, and Wal-Mart officials. This came after The Times reported on a Wal-Mart memo that suggested such clever tactics as forcing all shop clerks to spend some time hauling shopping carts in from the parking lot -- the better to weed out unhealthy workers who might submit health insurance claims.Wal-Mart fired the employee it said was responsible for taping the calls, a man named Bruce Gabbard, and said his actions were unauthorized. Then Mr. Gabbard started talking to The Wall Street Journal, saying the department he worked for had spied on critics. Wal-Mart quickly issued apologies to the critics and got a judge to order Mr. Gabbard to stop talking.Mr. Gabbard said he told a Wal-Mart lawyer that ''I'm the guy listening to the board of directors when Lee Scott is excused from the room.''Does that mean that Mr. Scott authorized spying on his own board when it was discussing his performance? If so, it would be a shocking breach of corporate etiquette and governance.For a few days after that quote appeared, Wal-Mart declined to comment. But eventually a company spokeswoman, Mona Williams, did issue a denial: ''We never would have authorized'' bugging board meetings, she said, and Mr. Scott never listened to any such tapes. (more)
The average person sees the dots as standing still.
People who are subjects of electronic eavesdropping
will see them as moving. (click on image to test)
Just kidding.
A fun optical illusion. Nothing at all to do with eavesdropping.
(more)
MI - A Brighton man learned Thursday that he will spend six months on electronic tether for eavesdropping on his wife. Livingston County Circuit Judge David Reader also sentenced the 45-year-old man to 18 months probation and six days in the county jail, with credit for six days served. Police alleged the 45-year-old man sexually assaulted his wife in summer 2004 while she slept at their home, and that he installed eavesdropping devices and videotaped the assault.The assault was not reported until 2006, police said.The two are getting a divorce.The man pleaded guilty to eavesdropping and installing devices to eavesdrop in exchange for prosecutors dismissing three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. (more)
No one would have blamed Phil Zimmerman for coasting after he created Pretty Good Privacy (PGP)... But Zimmermann and others saw big security holes in VoIP. It wasn’t just that average citizens might need protection against government surveillance of their VoIP calls, Zimmermann reasoned. No, this time around, it was government officials themselves who might need protection against eavesdropping... Zimmermann knew that criminals could easily listen in on the VoIP calls of those investigating them.This concern drove him, Jon Callas and Alan Johnston to create ZRTP, a protocol that imports some of PGP’s best features to Internet telephony. Zimmermann also saw an opportunity to create a secure voice-communications protocol that didn’t rely on the public-key infrastructure (PKI) or any external servers. As a result, ZRTP is a purely peer-to-peer setup that still allows users to thwart various kinds of attacks on their own.“When two human beings are talking to each other, they are in a position to detect a ‘man in the middle’ by comparing whether or not they’re both using the same session key—using human conversation, verbal comparisons, hashed authentication strings,” Zimmermann says. “It completely eliminates the need for public-key infrastructure, which is quite a complex thing to drag into the VoIP world.”
Zfone, the ZRTP-based product Zimmermann sells through a company with the same name, also incorporates “key continuity,” where you hash the keys just used in the conversation, and they become part of the keys for the next conversation, thus assuring that you’re talking with the same person as the last time. (more) (Zfone beta release available for free download now.)
Got VoIP?
Get this!
Zphone is available as a "plugin" for existing soft VoIP clients, effectively converting them into secure phones.
The $29.95 M-7 Secret Agency Spy Ear."Imagine having a bionic ear that would allow you to secretly hear from great distances. Its ultra-sensitive microphone allows for crisp, clear audio all in a discreet, tiny ear-piece. Simply put, this tiny, cutting-edge device will turn any average Joe into a secret agent." ...or, a creepy looking dork. (more)
IL - A principal and a teacher at a suburban elementary school quit amid allegations they were caught on video having sex in the principal's office, authorities say.
In keeping with Cook County's reputation for bare-knuckle politics, the scandal broke after copies of the sex tape (2.5-hour DVD) were mailed anonymously to parents this week, just days before a contested school board election.
The case has also created something of a mystery: Who planted the camera that recorded the action?
...Sheriff's Department and South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force officers Thursday night searched the school to look for the camera and other items that may be related to the investigation.
Contrary to televised reports, the FBI was not part of the search at Sandridge Elementary School, Cook County Sheriff's Police Department Deputy Chief John Palcu said.
"At this point (the camera) wasn't found last night," Palcu said Friday morning. "I'm pretty sure it was removed. If it was a setup, they got what they wanted and then distributed the DVDs." (more) (photo)
CA - A woman and her mother sued Best Buy and its "Geek Squad" computer repair team Wednesday, claiming they were legally responsible for dispatching a technician who allegedly videotaped the daughter taking a shower.The suit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on behalf of Sarah Vasquez, 22, and her mother, Natalie Fornaciari, 46, both from City of Industry, alleges that Geek Squad technician Hao Kuo Chi, 26, placed his cellphone in Vasquez's bathroom during a computer service call March 4 and recorded her showering.Chi was arrested the same day on suspicion of using a camera to view a person without their consent and of annoying or molesting a child under 18, both misdemeanors, said Sheriff's Sgt. Bob Skudlarski. (more with video report)
Sally and Kelly's conversations take place in their "cave" -- their bedroom. The couple displays their ability to talk to -- and listen to -- that person in bed next to them while listeners eavesdrop on their intimate conversations.
The Cave Report, a new radio show on XM (channel 124) and Sirius Satellite Radio (channel 143), featuring a couple, a bed and a conversation every Saturday in April on ABC News Talk Channel. Sally and Kelly, the hosts of the show, are Sothe "couple next-door" earnestly trying to process the world around them while avoiding, with any luck, the land mines that challenge all couples on their way to mutual understanding and respect. They invite listeners into the most intimate place imaginable: their bed. (more)
SETI Researchers Propose Eavesdropping on Alien Civilizations 
